SupplyToy

Two-year-olds are not small three-year-olds. Their play is repetitive, physical and largely non-verbal — and the toys that respect that get used every single day.

Three is where imagination, language and fine motor control arrive at the same time. The right toys stop being things to operate and start being things to tell stories with.

By four, the best toys stop looking like toys. Construction kits, real tools, board games and craft materials outperform almost everything in the children's aisle.

Six is the first age where a school timetable decides what gets played with. The toys that survive are the ones that fit a short, tired afternoon and let a child do something real.

Between seven and eight the toy box halves in volume and doubles in price, because the child has started choosing. The three categories that hold up are skills, rule-based games and collections.

The toy industry largely stops designing for nine to twelve, which leaves parents guessing at exactly the age interests deepen. What fills the gap is real tools, projects that run for weeks, and equipment for everything they do with their bodies.

Most toys marketed for travel are too big, too noisy, or boring by hour two. Here is what actually works in a confined space with a small child and a limited tray table.

Wooden blocks are the most-bought and least-understood toy in the nursery. Here is what separates a set that lasts a decade from one that ends up in a charity bag within a month.